


Nicknames

by Count_Sagula



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, One Shot, Uzumaki Naruto & Sarutobi Hiruzen Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 20:29:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14363049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Count_Sagula/pseuds/Count_Sagula
Summary: The Sandaime always wondered why Naruto never called him by his title. One day, he asked.





	Nicknames

"Naruto," the Sandaime said, continuing only when he got the young ward's attention, "Why do you call me jiji?"

The young boy looked up from the kid's novel he was reading with a confused look. "'Cause you're old, jiji."

Hiruzen twitched at that, ignoring the near-silent snickers of his Anbu detail. He was well aware he was getting up there in the years but he didn't need to be reminded of it by his young deceased successor's somewhat secret prepubescent son. He got enough of that from Jiraiya, even now when the man was approaching his fifties.

"I meant why don't you call me Hokage-sama," Hiruzen said. Seeing the still confused look on Naruto's face, he clarified. "Most people call me Hokage-sama or Sandaime-sama, but you only call me Hokage-jiji, or just Jiji, and I can't help but wonder why?"

It might seem like an odd, seemingly meaningless question to ask someone, especially a young child, but Naruto was different. The blonde might be young, stubborn, and had a one-track mind that had the tendency to be easily distracted, unless it involved ramen for some strange reason, but he had an odd and intriguing way at looking at things, something 'The Professor' had noticed through many observations of the boy.

Naruto's response to his question was, in itself, odd, even for a child.

Sure, children tended to be more candid and blunt, but they typically picked up on the cues of those around him. It was the same with his own experiences with a much younger Jiraiya. His perverted student had, on multiple occasions, called out his age, even when he was the Hokage, but Jiraiya had quickly learned to speak to him respectfully, at least in public, due to the pressures of adults who hounded him for his disrespect.

But Naruto persisted, despite literally every single person to speak to him referring to him in some respectful form. Hell, his own teammates called him 'Hokage-sama,' and when they heard Naruto blatantly call him an old man in some form or another, they had lectured the child relentlessly, berating him every time he did so in their presence.

"Well, it's cause you're The Old Man," Naruto said, curiosity surfacing. "Why do they call you that?"

"It's a form of respect, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen began, adding, when he saw Naruto's semi-confused expression, "the thing Koharu and Homura, my teammates, keep bringing up." He paused to allow Naruto's expression to go from one of confusion to that of understanding; Naruto was a rather expressive child, especially with his face and his eyes, something that reminded Hiruzen awfully of his Uzumaki parent. "When they call me Hokage-sama or Sandaime-sama, it's out of respect for the position I hold, the one that you claimed you wanted for yourself. They recognize me as their leader, their superior, in command, not as a person, and so they refer to me with the respect of my being able to attain that position in how they address me. Calling me an old man, no matter how true it is, isn't all that respectful."

Hiruzen has to admit, the concept of respect was, at least the expression of it, somewhat difficult for him to explain, especially to Naruto, but he was sure he did a decent enough job. Despite his seemingly simple, and a little vacant at times, Naruto was still Minato's child; the man had been a genius, and, while he didn't show it all that often, Naruto occasionally had that same spark in his eyes as his father, and the Sandaime was doubtful of the boy's seemingly low intelligence.

Besides, the Sandaime didn't ask the question entirely for himself, though he was curious of Naruto's answer, it was more for his Anbu.

While the Anbu weren't as stuffy and disciplinarian as they appeared to others while on the job, quite a few actually rather easygoing, albeit with a darker sense of humor, the more strict and extremely professional few were curious of the boy's casual disrespect of his title, especially when he had a habit of calling other people by more formal, such as a few of the workers at the orphanage. Unfortunately, they couldn't voice their question to the blonde as they served as silent and hidden guards watching over him, ones who he wasn't supposed to be aware of.

Also, the Sandaime always welcomed a break from his tedious paperwork.

"But I do respect you," Naruto replied, appearing to truly not understand the issue.

"Naruto-kun, calling the elderly old, repeatedly, is not respectful," the Sandaime said with a sweatdrop, quickly adding when the boy opened his mouth a bit too quickly to argue, "even if it is true."

Naruto closed his mouth, a small pout on his face as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. A moment later, he seemed pensive, looking down at the pages of the book now resting on his lap.

"People call you 'Hokage-sama' and 'Sandaime-sama' because you're the Hokage and they respect you for that, right?" Naruto said slowly. When he paused and looked up at him, Hiruzen gave him a kind smile and an encouraging nod when he didn't continue. "That's why I don't call you those things."

"Are you saying you don't respect my being the Sandaime Hokage?" The Hokage asked sternly, a serious look on his face as he stared narrowly at Naruto.

"Wha-? No, not that, I mean, that's not what I meant!" Naruto stammered, waving his hands in panic. Hiruzen's stern visage reluctantly broke away to amusement at the young boy's reaction. Naruto's face immediately flushed red, a mix of embarrassment and anger.

"Jiji! Why are you so mean?!" He huffed, pout returning to his face as he turned away with crossed arms.

Hiruzen couldn't contain the few chuckles that escaped his throat. He may be the Hokage but that didn't mean he couldn't have a little innocent fun poking at the blonde.

"I apologize, Naruto-kun, I couldn't help myself," Hiruzen said, though the amused curve of his lips didn't help his apology.

Getting back to the subject at hand, he motioned for the boy to continue.

Naruto was hesitant to reply but Hiruzen's kind grandfatherly visage helped him open up, albeit reluctantly.

"It's not that I don't respect you as the Hokage, I do, even if the Yondaime was cooler," Naruto replied, muttering the last part in an almost-whisper, not that the Sandaime and the various hidden Anbu couldn't hear it.

The Sandaime felt a mix of amusement and sadness at the fact that the child unknowingly idolized his father, an annoyance that, despite his extensive, and lengthiest, tenure as the Sandaime, he was still overlooked for the flashier Hokage's, such as the Shodaime and the Yondaime, even if the former was one of the most important historical figure in the founding of their village, as well as in a league of his own in terms of sheer power and skill, while the latter was, literally, flashier than the others. He would have said that the Nidaime was in the same boat of being looked down upon in comparison to the other Hokage, but he was reputed for being the Shodaime's brother, as well as an expert in more esoteric branches of the shinobi arts.

It was ironic that it was that reason the Nidaime was famous for was the same reason that the Sandaime was generally overlooked. His title of being 'The Professor' didn't rate much when it came across as trying to ride on the coattails of his mentor, at least in the eyes of children. Of course, shinobi knew better than to overlook anyone who had rightfully attained the Hokage seat, especially one considering his tenure, both of them.

Naruto's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, or rather the lack of his voice. It wasn't like the Uzumaki to be so hesitant.

"But…," the Sandaime prompted.

"But, it's not why I call you jiji," Naruto finally answered.

The raised eyebrow, accompanying the slight look of confusion on the Sandaime's face got Naruto to frown in frustration and concentration. Naruto was never all that great at explaining himself or his ideas without them coming off as either simple, idiotic, or incomprehensible, both usually caused by the lack of understanding of his thought processes.

The blonde didn't typically like explaining the way his mind worked due to either having difficulty explaining to others how he got there, or a general lack of understanding of Naruto's concluding thoughts on the part of others, but he made an exception for the Sandaime, no matter how frustrating it was trying to breakdown his thoughts for his pseudo-grandfather's understanding. Though Hiruzen suspected that it might also be because the young orphan didn't have to fear rejection or mockery from the formerly retired man.

"It wasn't the Hokage who visited the orphanage," Naruto replied slowly as his eyes were firmly on the pages in his lap, carrying on despite seeing the Sandaime's furrowed brows from the corner of his eyes. "It wasn't the Hokage who saw me, who noticed me, not like the adults at the orphanage who ignored me. It wasn't the Hokage who smiled at me and asked how I was doing. It wasn't the Hokage who held my hand when we walked through the village and took me to my first bowl of ramen and introduced me to Teuchi-oji-san and Ayame-nee-chan. It wasn't the Hokage that kept coming back for me so we could go get ramen every week. It wasn't the Hokage who taught me how to read and write like the other kids when the orphanage people didn't want to. It wasn't the Hokage who said I could visit the Hokage Tower whenever I wanted, who always talked to me and helped me out with anything if he could and looked out for me…"

Naruto looked up to meet the Sandaime's gaze, eyes shining with the moisture of unshed tears, and said, "that was you. That's why I'll always call you jiji, cause that's who you are to me. You might be the Sandaime Hokage for everyone else but you'll always be jiji to me."

The Sandaime's furrowed brows rose up into his forehead in understanding. Naruto didn't see Hiruzen as the Sandaime Hokage, despite Hiruzen's position and others' attempts at getting the boy to address him as such. Well, at least that wasn't all that Naruto saw him as. Naruto acknowledged Hiruzen as the Sandaime, and respected the man for his position, but that respect was outweighed by Naruto's respect and admiration of the old man that occasionally looked after him and cared for him, hence why he would always be the Old Man to Naruto.

The Sandaime's brows furrowed once more as he gave into the urge to ask a question. "You do know that if you do become Hokage, that is what the majority of the village will see you as."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed a little before he gave a slow nod. "Yeah, but it wouldn't matter then." Seeing the Sandaime's quirked eyebrow, he continued. "You said that I would be like you if I could become Hokage."

" _Jiji?" an energetic Naruto called to get his attention._

" _Yes, Naruto-kun?" The Sandaime said after taking a moment to slurp up the noodles in mouth that prevented him from talking._

" _Could I, um, be like you?" Naruto asked, eyes looking at him a touch reverently._

" _Of course you can, depending on how you grow up as well as how much you grow," the Sandaime replied with a kind smile, the boy's eyes widening at his encouraging words._

" _How will I know when I've grown up enough?" Naruto asked in a mix of desperate confusion and hope._

" _Why, you'll know when you get this hat of mine," the Sandaime said with a chuckle, causing a determined fire to alight in the young boy's eyes. "Of course, you still have much growing to do but I'm sure you'll eventually be able to wear this hat proudly."_

At the time, the Sandaime had thought Naruto was talking about becoming Hokage, seeing as that was what the only thing Naruto knew him to be. Looking back, he now understood that Naruto didn't want to necessarily become Hokage. No, the young boy had wanted to be someone like, someone compassionate, and kind, and caring, and a whole host of other things that formed what Hiruzen had been for Naruto. Naruto's desire for becoming Hokage was because Naruto believed that his goal of growing up into the kind of person he saw Hiruzen as was so that he would have an end goal, a measure of if he grew enough and in the right way, as only a man matured enough to be like him could possibly receive the Hokage's position.

"I see," Hiruzen replied.

He didn't know what to say about the mix of warmth at Naruto's high regard of him being a testament of his character instead of his Hokage title and unease at his successor's son desiring the Hokage position over misjudged reasons. He wasn't sure if he should try to correct Naruto's rationale or allow Naruto's determination to run its course and see where it took him; the former might be better so that Naruto didn't pursue a career that may not be well-suited for him while the latter would definitely push his growth as a shinobi further than he would without such a grand end goal.

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi kept his silence. He would have time to make a decision in the future; for now, he would return to his paperwork and bask in the warmth of the boy's admiration. After all, how many could say they value an old man over a Hokage?


End file.
